Maharaj v. State

• Decision Date: 30 November 2000
• Docket Number: No. SC91854.,SC91854.
• Citation: 778 So.2d 944
• Parties: Krishna MAHARAJ, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

778 So.2d 944

Krishna MAHARAJ, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. SC91854.

Supreme Court of Florida.

November 30, 2000.

Rehearing Denied January 23, 2001.

Benedict P. Kuehne of Sale & Kuehne, Miami, Florida; and Clive A. Stafford Smith, New Orleans, Louisiana, for Appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, and Sandra S. Jaggard, Assistant Attorney General, Miami, Florida, for Appellee.

Chandler R. Muller, Winter Park, Florida, for Members of European Parliament, Amicus Curiae.

Donald R. West of the Law Offices of Donald R. West, Orlando, Florida; and Philip Sapsford, Queen's Counsel, Zubair Ahmad, Barrister, London, for The Bar of England and Wales Human Rights Committee, Amicus Curiae.

James M. Russ of the Law Offices of James M. Russ, P.A., Orlando, Florida; and Julian B. Knowles, Barrister-at-Law, London, for House of Commons, Amicus Curiae.

Sylvia Walbolt of Carlton Fields, St. Petersburg, Florida; and Paul Lomas, Freshfields, London, for Ad Hoc Cross-Party Group of the House of Lords, Amicus Curiae.

PER CURIAM.

We have for review an order from the trial court denying Krishna Maharaj's motion for postconviction relief on the trial phase¹ issues involving his first-degree murder conviction where a sentence of death was imposed. We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(1), Florida Constitution. For the reasons expressed below, we affirm the denial of relief and lift the stay entered pertaining to a new penalty phase trial.

PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Krishna Maharaj (Maharaj) was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Duane and Derrick Moo Young, two counts of kidnapping, and the unlawful possession of a firearm while engaged in a criminal offense. Maharaj was sentenced to death for the murder of Duane Moo Young and to life imprisonment for the murder of Derrick Moo Young. He was also sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment for the kidnapping convictions and to fifteen years for possession of the firearm, to run consecutively to each of the above sentences. The convictions and death sentence were affirmed on direct appeal. See Maharaj v. State, 597 So.2d 786 (Fla.1992)

.

Maharaj thereafter filed a motion for postconviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851. The motion was summarily denied in the trial court. This Court reversed the summary denial on three issues: (1) whether materials were improperly withheld by the prosecutor; (2) whether counsel was ineffective for failing to properly advise Maharaj on waiver of various issues; and (3) whether perjured testimony was presented at trial by the State. In addition, we also found the trial judge should have recused himself from presiding over the postconviction proceedings because he had been the supervising state attorney during the prosecution of Maharaj. See Maharaj v. State, 684 So.2d 726 (Fla.1996)

.

The case was assigned to a new judge and hearing was held on the motion. The court denied relief on the issues pertaining to the conviction, but granted relief on the sentencing issue because the trial judge held ex parte communications with the State and allowed the State to write the sentencing order. The court failed to conduct an independent review of the aggravating and mitigating factors by merely adopting the State's order with a few typographical changes. A new penalty phase trial was ordered. Maharaj has appealed that portion of the trial court's decision upholding his conviction. The State did not appeal. This Court stayed the new penalty phase trial pending the outcome of this appeal.

The relevant facts are taken from the direct appeal opinion and are as follows:

These murders occurred as a result of an ongoing dispute between Derrick Moo Young and Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj was arrested after an accomplice of his, Neville Butler, was questioned by the police and inculpated Maharaj.

During the trial, the primary witness for the State was Neville Butler. Butler testified that in June, 1986, he worked for The Caribbean Echo, a weekly newspaper directed to the West Indian community in South Florida. Prior to Butler's employment, the Echo had published an article, in May, 1986, accusing Derrick Moo Young of theft. When Butler joined the Echo, he assisted the publisher, Elsee Carberry, in writing an article in July, 1986, which charged Maharaj with illegally taking money out of Trinidad. Butler testified that on October 10, 1986, an article was published in the Echo accusing Maharaj of forging a $243,000 check. This article explained that the check was the basis for a lawsuit that Moo Young had filed against Maharaj.

Butler testified that in September, 1986, he was unhappy working for the Echo and contacted Maharaj seeking employment with The Caribbean Times, Maharaj's newspaper. Butler testified that, at Maharaj's urging, he arranged for a meeting between Derrick Moo Young and Maharaj at the DuPont Plaza Hotel in Miami so that Maharaj could extract a confession from Moo Young regarding his extortion of $160,000 from Maharaj's relatives in Trinidad. Butler arranged this meeting for October 16, 1986, using the pretext of a business meeting with some Bahamian individuals named Dames and Ellis, who were interested in importing and exporting certain products. Butler arranged to use Dames' suite at the hotel. Butler stated that Maharaj made it clear that he should not tell Moo Young that he would be at the meeting.

According to Butler, Maharaj wanted to (1) extract a confession of fraudulent activity from Derrick Moo Young, (2) require Moo Young to issue two checks to repay him for the fraud, and (3) have Butler go to the bank with the checks to certify them, at which time Maharaj would allow Moo Young to leave upon hearing of the certification. Butler stated that Derrick Moo Young and, unexpectedly, Duane Moo Young, his son, appeared at the hotel room. Once inside, Maharaj appeared from behind a door with a gun and a small pillow. An argument broke out between Maharaj and [Derrick] Moo Young over the money owed. Maharaj shot Derrick Moo Young in the leg. At that time, Derrick Moo Young attempted to leave. Maharaj ordered Butler to tie up Duane Moo Young with immersion cords. Maharaj also ordered Butler to tie up Derrick Moo Young; however, before he could do so, Derrick Moo Young lunged at Maharaj. Maharaj fired three or four shots at Derrick Moo Young.

After shooting Derrick Moo Young, Maharaj questioned Duane Moo Young regarding the money. During this time, Derrick Moo Young crawled out the door and into the hallway. Maharaj shot him and pulled him back into the room. Shortly thereafter, Duane Moo Young broke loose and hurled himself at Maharaj, but Butler held him back. Then Maharaj took Duane Moo Young to the second floor of the suite where he questioned him again. Later, Butler heard one shot. Maharaj came downstairs and both he and Butler left the room. They both waited in the car in front of the hotel for Dames.

Sometime later, Butler met with Dames and Ellis, the two men he used to lure Moo Young to the hotel. They encouraged him to tell the police what he knew of the murders. Later that day, Maharaj called Butler asking that he meet him at Denny's by the airport so they could make sure and get their stories straight. Butler called Detective Burmeister and told him what had transpired earlier that day in suite 1215 of the DuPont Plaza Hotel. The detective, along with another officer, drove Butler to Denny's to meet Maharaj and, at a prearranged signal, the detectives arrested Maharaj.

. . . .

The State presented other corroborating evidence concerning the events that took place at the DuPont Plaza Hotel. The maid assigned to this room testified that she cleaned the room in the early morning of October 16, 1986, and, upon entering it, found that it had not been used the previous evening. She also explained that, when she left the room, it was in perfect order, including the fact that the "Do Not Disturb" sign was on the inside of the door. At 12:15 p.m., she and her boss were asked to check the room. They attempted to enter the room but were unable to do so because it was locked from the inside and, consequently, the master key would not work. She explained that the room could not be locked from the inside unless someone was in the room. Ten minutes later, she returned with a security guard, and they noticed that the "Do Not Disturb" sign was hanging on the doorknob. This time when she tried the master key, it worked; she opened the door and, upon entering the room, noticed that the furniture had been moved and that there were two bodies.

A police fingerprint expert testified that he found Maharaj's prints on: (1) the "Do Not Disturb" sign attached to the exterior doorknob of suite 1215; (2) the exterior surface of the entrance door; (3) the outer surface of the downstairs bathroom; (4) the top surface of the desk; (5) an empty soda can; (6) the telephone receiver; (7) the top of the television set; (8) a glass table top; (9) a plastic cup; (10) the Miami News newspaper; (11) a U.S.A. Today newspaper; and (12) torn packages that held immersion heaters. Butler's prints were also found on a plastic glass, the telephone, the desk, the front door, and the television set.

The State presented a firearms expert, who examined the spent projectiles and casings. The expert testified that the eight bullets fired were from a pre-1976 Smith & Wesson model 39, a nine-millimeter semiautomatic pistol with a serial number under 270000. Evidence in the record established that Maharaj owned a Smith & Wesson nine-millimeter pistol, having a serial number of A235464.

The State also presented the testimony of the medical examiner, who stated that Derrick Moo Young had six gunshot wounds, the most serious of which entered the right side of the chest and exited the lower back. There was only one gunshot wound in Duane Moo Young, and it entered the left side of

...